Great White Egret

Ardea alba (Linnaeus, 1758) HW GRWEG 1210
Family: Pelecaniformes > Ardeidae

Great White Egret, Philip Croft

A bird of wetland and marsh, the Great White Egret is one of a small group of Continental heron species that have expanded their breeding ranges northwards and joined our avifauna.

Formerly a very rare bird in Britain & Ireland, the Great White Egret can now be seen throughout the year, often in association with other herons, when its long, sinuous neck, long legs and large size can be fully appreciated as it hunts its aquatic food.

Wetland Bird Survey data show the meteoric rise in Great White Egret numbers since it began colonising in around 2010. It is also monitored by the BTO Heronries Census and BirdTrack.

Identification

Great White Egret identification is often straightforward. The following article may help when identifying Great White Egret.

related video

Identifying Little Egret and Great White Egret

25 years ago the sighting of any White Heron in the UK would have been greeted with excitement. While Little Egret is now relatively common, it can sometimes be confused at distance with a much rarer visitor - Great White Egret. This video also helps separate GW Egret from 'white' or leucistic Grey Herons.

SONGS AND CALLS

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Great White Egret, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Flight call

Develop your bird ID skills with our training courses

Our interactive online courses are a great way to develop your bird identification skills, whether you're new to the hobby or a competent birder looking to hone your abilities.

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Status and Trends

Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.

CONSERVATION STATUS

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

POPULATION SIZE

POPULATION CHANGE

The recent trend for Great White Egret suggests it has now successfully colonised the UK, with the numbers of breeding pairs and sites both increasing rapidly since the species first bred in 2012 (Anderson et al. 2013). A total of 16–24 pairs bred in 2019 (Eaton et al. 2021) and breeding numbers are expected to increase further in the coming years.

DISTRIBUTION

Like the other two egret species, Great White Egrets are now recorded widely in Britain throughout the year. During the Atlas breeding period 134 10-km squares in Britain and 12 in Ireland were recorded as occupied by non-breeding birds. Since then, breeding has been confirmed at a number of locations.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

DISTRIBUTION CHANGE

SEASONALITY

Great White Egrets are more likely to be seen in winter than at other times of year, but can now be seen year-round at many southern locations.

Weekly occurence of Great White Egret from BirdTrack
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

An overview of year-round movements for the whole of Europe can be seen on the EuroBirdPortal viewer.

RINGING RECOVERIES

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Foreign locations of Great White Egret ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland
Encountered in: Winter (Nov-Feb); Spring (Mar-Apr); Summer (May-Jul); Autumn (Aug-Oct)

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information about Great White Egret, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING

Sample sizes are too small to report Productivity and Nesting statistics for this species.

BIOMETRICS

Sample sizes are too small to report Biometrics for this species.

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

CODES & CLASSIFICATION

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Gaelic: Corra-gheal-mhòr
Welsh: Crëyr Mawr Gwyn
Catalan: agró blanc
Czech: volavka bílá
Danish: Sølvhejre
Dutch: Grote Zilverreiger
Estonian: hõbehaigur
Finnish: jalohaikara
French: Grande Aigrette
German: Silberreiher
Hungarian: nagy kócsag
Icelandic: Mjallhegri
Irish: Éigrit Mhór
Italian: Airone bianco maggiore
Latvian: baltais garnis
Lithuanian: didysis baltasis garnys
Norwegian: Egretthegre
Polish: czapla biala
Portuguese: garça-branca
Slovak: beluša velká
Slovenian: velika bela caplja
Spanish: Garceta grande
Swedish: ägretthäger

Research

Interpretation and scientific publications about Great White Egret from BTO scientists.

CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS

Causes of change

Like other egret species, the expansion of Great White Egret into the UK has followed increases on the continent and an expansion north and west across Europe. The key drivers behind this expansion are unclear, but contributing factors may include increases and improvements to habitat, reduced persecution and improved legal protection and climate change (?awicki 2014).

Links to more information from ConservationEvidence.com

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